Even though the season is still a few months away, it’s never too early to start talking about college football.
With that in mind, I’ll be posting an article every Sunday until the seasons starts, listing seven plays that will fire you up for the 2015-’16 campaign.
Here’s the initial installment:
7 – Utes Run the Hook and Ladder (2005 Fiesta Bowl)
Let’s kick things off with some serious trickeration. By that, I mean a play so rare that even seasoned football expert Gary Danielson said afterwards, “I’ve never seen that before.”
Up 28-7 against Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, it looked like Utah co-head coaches Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham were going to play it safe. On 2nd and 1, Alex Smith fired the ball to Steve Savoy on a hitch route for what looked like a first down. However, Savoy pitched it to Paris Warren, who ran untouched into the end zone.
This touchdown gave the Utes a 35-7 lead and ended any hopes of a Pittsburgh comeback.
6 – Sirr’s Score (1998 Big 12 Championship Game)
Many people believe that the Big 12 didn’t play in the College Football Playoff last season because it doesn’t have a conference championship game.
However, having a league title game is a double-edged sword. While a victory in this contest could elevate the champion in the final standings, a loss could knock a team out altogether.
That’s what happened here. No. 1 Kansas State appeared well on its way to the BCS Championship Game. It led Texas A&M 33-30 and forced the Aggies into a third-and-17 from the 32-yard line. All the Wildcats had to do was come up with a couple of stops.
They didn’t get one. Aggie QB Branndon Stewart threw the ball to Sirr Parker on a quick slant. Parker managed to elude the first defender and outran a stunned KSU defense to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
His surprise score not only not knocked the Wildcats out of the BCS National Championship Game, it also kept them out of a BCS bowl.
Perhaps a conference championship game isn’t the answer after all!
5 – Hello, Herschel (1980, Georgia at Tennessee)
Heading into the 1980 season, most college football fans had never heard of Herschel Walker.
By the end of the year, he was a household name.
With touchdown runs like this one, it’s easy to see why that was the case. Taking the handoff deep in the backfield, Walker eluded an initial arm tackle and broke through the line of scrimmage. Rather than run to the sideline, Walker elected to run directly over UT safety Bill Bates – who’d earned freshman All-American honors in 1979.
This punishing TD run turned the tide of the game, propelling the Dawgs to a 16-15 victory. Walker would lead UGA to the national championship that season, and would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1982.
4. LaQuan Lumbers Into the End Zone (2015 Cotton Bowl)
Nothing fires up a crowd quite like a “big man” TD.
Baylor disguised this play very well. Since LaQuan McGowan looks like an offensive tackle (6′ 7”, 390 pounds) and the Bears already had a tight end in the game, it’s easy to see why Michigan State didn’t recognize that Baylor was using an unbalanced line. This alignment made McGowan the end man on the line of scrimmage, and therefore, an eligible receiver.
With the Spartan D not expecting him to get the ball, McGowan ran into the end zone untouched to put the Bears up 41-21.
Unfortunately, this play fired up the wrong team. Clearly upset about the blown assignment, the Michigan State defense pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter as the Spartans rallied to a 42-41 victory.
3. Devin’s Dash (2005 Duke at Miami)
Devin Hester’s run might have been one of the greatest individual efforts of all-time.
Let’s be honest: Duke couldn’t have defensed this play any better. The punter hung the ball in the air for 4.1 seconds and the Devils had players in position to make the tackle almost immediately.
But, Hester would not be denied. With nowhere to run after catching the ball, he actually ran backwards and into the arms of a Duke defender. Hester managed to elude this tackle and sprint to the other side of the field. He then broke three more tackles before racing into the end zone.
2. Central Michigan’s Hail Mary (2014 Bahamas Bowl)
Every year, I receive dozens of emails telling me how there are too many bowls and a majority of them are meaningless.
Tell that to Central Michigan. Down 49-14, the Chippewas continued to play hard, cutting Western Kentucky’s lead to 49-42 with just one second to play.
Then, things got interesting. CMU QB Cooper Rush threw the ball as deep as he could into a crowd of people at the Hilltopper 30. Jesse Kroll came up with the catch and lateraled the ball to Deon Butler. After nearly going to the ground, Butler tossed the pigskin to Courtney Williams, who threw it to Titus Davis, who managed to outrun the WKU defense to the end zone.
This type of effort is why I love college football and will watch every single bowl game.
1. Tommie’s Terrific TD Run (1996 National Championship Game)
Who’s the greatest option QB of all-time? I say that it’s Tommie Frazier, who could turn a one-yard loss into a 75-yard TD.
That’s what happened on this play. With time running out in the third quarter and the Huskers leading Florida, 42-18, Frazier ran the triple option to the right side. Florida defended the play well and had a chance to tackle him in the backfield. Frazier side-stepped the would-be tackler with ease and kept on running. He eluded two more defenders at the line of scrimmage and appeared to be stopped for a 10-yard gain with four Gator defenders surrounding him.
But, Frazier wasn’t going down this time. He kept his legs moving and eventually ran through the remaining Florida defenders en route to a 75-yard touchdown.
In all, he broke seven tackles on this run making it arguably the greatest run in college football history.
If that type of effort doesn’t make you ready for college football season, nothing will.
